18/03/2020
"Il-bużnannu kien ħaddied jagħmel is-seraturi tal-imfietaħ. Warajh kompla n-nannu li oriġinarjament kien landier. Imbagħad kompla l-papa’ u issa jien. Ħriġt mill-iskola ta' 16. Illum spiċċajt waħdi hawn. Ix-xogħol naqas ħafna. In-nies tfittex li tixtri l-lest. Illum biex tikkompeti trid tinvesti u tkabbar. Fil-mument għadni nara lili nnifsi f'dax-xogħol. Jien m’iniex persuna li nħares wisq lejn il-futur. Ma tantx nippjana fit-tul. Meta nħares madwari u nara n-nies imutu żgħar, ma tantx noqgħod naħseb fuq il-futur. Ngħix il-mument.
Hawnhekk qisni l-emerġenza; daqqa tiġi u ssibni għaddej bla nifs u daqqa ssibni kwiet. Illum il-kelma landier saret biss 'nickname' għax m'għadx hawn nies li jagħmlu x-xogħol li kien isir dari, bħal tirranġa xi borma. Illum iktar nagħmlu xogħlijiet ta' tilari, covers, ċmieni u custom made fuq ix-sheet metal." – Ivan
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“My great-grandfather was a locksmith. Then, my grandfather, who was originally a tinsmith, took over the business. My father continued after him and now there’s me. I left school at 16 years of age. I’m the only one left here. Work is very slow now. People look for ready-made objects. In order to compete in the modern market, one has to invest and expand. I see myself doing this kind of work for the short-term future. I’m not the type of person who likes thinking about the long-term future. I live in the moment.
Here it’s like the Emergency department; sometimes I’m inundated with work, other times I’m calmer. Nowadays the word “tinsmith” has become a nickname because you won’t find anyone who does this kind of work. In the old days, we used to fix pots. Now we work on covers, chimneys, trays and custom made on sheet metal.”
